Senator proposes reforms to gun ranges in wake of Lansing Township murder-suicide

LANSING - A state lawmaker said he is working on legislation that would close a loophole that allowed a man access to the gun police say he used in a murder-suicide last month in Lansing Township.

The proposal by Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, comes less than a month after Timothy Patrick Olin shot and killed Rachel Renee Duncan at a Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store on West Michigan Avenue before turning the gun on himself.

Olin's handgun had been confiscated by police after a judge issued a personal protection order against him. The PPO prevented Olin from buying a handgun at a local second-hand store but didn't stop him from renting a gun at a Mason indoor shooting range, police said. Olin left the range with the gun and used it to kill Duncan and himself on March 26.

Jones said he wants to change the law so that anyone who wants to rent a gun would need to pass a background check or have a concealed weapons permit or a permit to buy a gun.

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He's also proposing that gun dealers be required to notify police when someone tries to buy a firearm but fails the federal background check. If a PPO is involved, police could warn the person who sought the order, he said.

The bills also would require that people who have their gun permit suspended turn that permit over to the county clerk's office.

"With common-sense reform, we can help prevent similar senseless situations," Jones said in a news release.

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.